Mara fled her abusive home at age 16 and began sleeping on the couch. She was not considered homeless

Mara (not her real name) was 16 when she packed up her life and fled her home in the middle of the night. The alternative was living in an abusive household.
“There was an incident and I was like, fuck this,” she said.
Like many other young people in her situation, she sought refuge: in this case, a friend’s couch to sleep on.

Mara told The Feed that she had a strained relationship with her parents since she was young, due to differing views on traditional gender roles. But one day, she had enough of the abuse.

Mara said she was reported missing by her parents but chose to ignore contact with police for fear she would have to return home.
At one point she slept alone in a park for a few nights.
“It was scary. I didn’t really sleep because my heart was beating so fast. I remember just panicking at that point. I was just like, ‘F-ck, what am I going to do?'” Mara said.

Mara is one of many young people fleeing their homes because of domestic violence. About 72 per cent of young homeless Australians have experienced domestic or sexual violence, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Special Homelessness Services annual report.

Since the night she left home, Mara has been homeless—couchsurfing or living in temporary crisis shelters. She now has a court-ordered protective order against her mother.

Young homeless Australians are not being counted

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 28,000 people aged 12 to 24 were homeless in 2021, making young people almost a quarter of the total homeless population. This was an increase of 5.2 percent from 2016.
But couchsurfers are often excluded from this data, says Judy Barraclough, CEO of the charity Youth Off The Streets.

“The hidden problem is that [data counts the] “There are so many people who have found a bed in a shelter. But what about the young people who are temporarily living on the streets because they have nowhere to go?”

A table of statistics on domestic violence, including 18 percent of women who experienced sexual or physical abuse at the age of 15 in 2021-2022.

Statistics show that many young people are confronted with domestic violence. Source: SBS

When Mission Australia recently surveyed almost 20,000 young people, it found that one in ten had been homeless in the past 12 months.

Sharon Callister, CEO of Mission Australia, says many young people sleeping on someone’s couch are unaware they are homeless.
“If they’re sleeping on a friend’s couch — one person’s couch — they don’t have a permanent address, a safe place to call home. They may not even realize they’re homeless, but they absolutely are,” Callister said.

“It’s a tragedy, it’s a crisis.”

cartoon illustration of a woman sitting on a bench in a sleeping bag

Many young people are not identified as homeless because they do not use support services, instead they rely on couch potatoes. Source: SBS / Caroline Huang

Mara is now 20 and lives in temporary housing with the help of several specialized homeless shelters, but her life took a very different turn.

She started hanging out with the wrong crowd and stealing weed, but soon realized she had entered the criminal world.

“It became a lot more serious and I think the reality of what I had been through hit me.”
Mara eventually had to leave her friend’s house and started working at a burger joint every day while also trying to finish high school.

“It was really hard to go to school, or even do my assignments. I couldn’t get internet. I had to focus on keeping a roof over my head,” she said.

Surviving an abusive home situation

Victims fleeing domestic violence often find themselves in unsafe situations, Barraclough said.
“There is a clear temptation for …which quickly leads to a situation where one has to deal with the juvenile justice system, and that then exacerbates a number of problems,” she said.

Barraclough said youth homelessness often sets off a chain reaction, with missing school leading to long-term problems with employment, social and mental health.

A table showing that young people are much more likely to be homeless than older people

The 2021 census found that almost a quarter of all homeless people were between the ages of 12 and 24 (28,204 people). Source: SBS

“They have no income… they are isolated from school because they can’t go to school themselves, and they are expected to fend for themselves like adults would… it is a matter of survival for many of them.”

Another problem, she says, is the lack of specific support services tailored to young people.

“One in two young people is rejected for emergency shelter when they need it. There are very limited resources available specifically for young people.”

Should we screen students for domestic violence, just like we do for cancer?

David MacKenzie is a senior lecturer at UNSW who has done extensive research into youth homelessness and believes early prevention is key.

A homeless man sleeps on a park bench in Perth.

Mission Australia recently surveyed almost 20,000 young people and found that almost one in ten had been homeless in the past 12 months. Source: MONKEY / Dave Hunt

Part of this is identifying abuse in the family before a child is forced to flee, for example through surveys among students.

“We screen for diseases, we screen for cervical cancer, we have screening processes for health conditions. Well, we use a screening process to try to identify young people who are at risk of becoming homeless.”

Australia’s ‘perennial problem’

MacKenzie believes that more supportive housing for young people is needed so that people like Mara don’t end up on the streets. But this isn’t a long-term solution.
“If we look at homelessness purely as a housing problem, we will have a permanent problem because we are not doing anything to stop the flow of people into it.”

He said most homeless youth sleep on benches instead of on the streets.

Table shows that the number of homeless people in Australia is increasing

Among young children, the increase in homelessness is the greatest since the last census. Source: SBS

Youth homelessness is not confined to the big cities. Coffs Harbour’s Wesley Youth Accommodation Services programme manager Meena Johnson estimates that eight in 10 clients are escaping domestic or family violence.

“I think people forget the impact that domestic violence has on children, young people and siblings,” Johnson said.
She said she has seen young victims offering their bodies to put a roof over their heads.
Mara’s resilience allowed her to graduate from high school, even without family support or a stable home. She now tries to navigate the tight rental market while living with complex PTSD from her time as a homeless person.
“I’m always tense,” Mara said.
“I never have enough money in my own mind. I’m constantly preparing for the worst… I have to make sure I have enough money [money]that if something goes wrong, I won’t end up on the streets again.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing or at risk of experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.

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